Tuesday, 3 September 2013

British Ultra Fest - Forty-eight hours of fun

I had entered this event last year and I wasn't going to
miss it, I could do as much or as little as I liked, my plan was to run the
first half an hour and the last half an hour and just go with the flow for the
other forty-seven hours. My training was minimal to say the least, treading a
fine line between recovering from the effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy
and actually doing some running, from the beginning of July until the first
week of August I had eighteen runs of between three and five miles and one run
of ten miles, I thought it more important to gather my strength than to use it
up. I had a check up at Edinburgh's
Western General the day before heading down to Oxford, they are pleased I've put
on a smidgen of weight since having the feeding tube removed, (I didn't mention
that the last time I was weight was a roasting day and I was wearing shorts
and t-shirt, it was cooler now and I was
wearing jeans and a heavier top) my mouth is still sensitive to fruit and
textured food, I'm still very restricted on what I can eat but was told this is
normal only ten weeks post treatment and will improve with time.

Pauline and I had enlisted Ken, Sue and Gillian for support
and after a lot of deliberation of whether to hire a campervan or a people
carrier for event, we went for a nine-seater minibus and it was just right for
the five of us and all the gear we had.
We packed the bus on Tuesday night so we could head off on Wednesday
morning at a civilised hour, the drive down to Oxford was uneventful and didn't take as long as we'd thought it might.

We arriving at Radley College and greeted Lorna, John, William
and Richard with a cheery hello, they were doing the six day race and had
started at noon on Sunday 11th, we'll get to know the other runners soon. We picked our spot for the big tent and put it
up, also Ken and Sue's wee tent, inflated the mattresses but left sorting the
rest of the stuff until later since it was pouring a drizzle and went to Tesco
for our adventure supplies and then to a pub for something to eat. I managed
all my fish but it was a shame I had to pick the lovely crispy batter off, it was
too abrasive, I managed some of my chips
and mushy peas, and a nice pint of local beer, clearing just over half my plate
was an achievement as the last time I had fish n' chips was before the surgery.

Then back to Radley College for an early-ish night but I
don't think I slept too well with the tent
being next to the track, I could hear the runners timing chips beep all
night as they went over the mats and one runner was singing at the top of his
voice, "Turn yer iPod down ya
numpty!"

Rabbit the Bruce and Rampers check out the track.

Before the start

In the morning it took me a bit time trying to remember my routine for a big race, it's been nearly a year since my last one at Glenmore24! But I wasn't nervous, I
haven't done race nerves since my first WHW race in 2003, I run and race for
fun and it didn't matter that I haven't had the conventional build up to a big race, I've made it to the start line,
every lap will be a bonus.

10.00am Thursday 15th August. Fourteen of us joined in the fun on the track
that was the British Ultra Fest 48 hour
race.

Pauline and I ran a few laps
together then I let her go on, this was
not the pace I was planning and after a couple of hours I had gone around ten
miles, the farthest I have gone since February, I had already had
had a few walking laps and now decided that walking was the most energy
efficient mode of moving forward and wouldn't run again until tomorrow. I took
my camera round for a lap or two,

Just another forty-five and a half hours to go!

The reassuring beep of the timing mat

Where's my runners?

I just observed the world from a 400 metre
running track, a Red Kite soared above, we went round and round, Sue strolled to the shop for a newspaper and
ice lollies, we went round and round, support sat and ate ice lollies reading
the paper, we went round and round, Sue went off for a wee run amongst pretty thatched
cottages, we went round and round, Gillian went off for a run, we went... you
get the picture! It didn't faze me even though this was my first race on a
track, once I've chosen a challenge I just get on with it and enjoy it, plus
having the IQ of a hamster probably helps.

I'm easily amused and when Pauline lapped me I thought her
hair reminded me of someone, I had to tell her, she laughed, but I knew she'd
bide her time and come back with something at some point during the race...

Pauline and Rampers matching hair-dos

It got dark and there were frequent rain showers, it wasn't
cold though. I had my baseball cap
pulled well down and the hood on my rain jacket went up or down depending on
how heavy the rain. I didn't need a head
torch, we were going clockwise so I just kept my left foot on or near the white
line of lane one, it was easy to see. I was listening to my iPod, I had Runrig
on shuffle reliving the brilliant night we had on Saturday, we had been up at
the Black Isle for the Party on the Moor, Runrig's 40th anniversary celebration.
I was singing along hopefully not as loud as the guy last night but I was
enjoying myself.

10.00pm, I'd been on the go for twelve hours and covered
over forty odd miles, my legs were sore and I could feel a couple of blisters
on the balls of my feet, probably with walking rather than running, I was
placing and picking up my feet differently, and with the lack of training my
feet were probably soft but I loved it! I revelled in the discomfort, this is
the pain that the fit and healthy have. Also
knowing that my friends and family were checking my progress on the live
results, I could see your smiling faces
at what I've achieved so far, that made me emotional knowing I have a lot of
love willing me on. Sue has an awfy
clever phone and kept us up to date with facebook messages, they meant a lot,
thank you.

By 11.00pm I was tired and ready for a break but I would
wait until after midnight when we changed direction, it made it easier being on
the track at a change of direction, it wouldn't confuse me when I got going
again. It was a long hour until the change but just before midnight Sue said
that if I did another half a dozen laps I'd have 50 miles, and that's a nice
number to stop for a sleep at, so I continued on for another twenty minutes or
so before dropping onto my mattress and into my sleeping bag for a couple of
hours. I don't think I slept much but it
was lovely to rest. Sue told me it was
time to get up, I unzipped my sleeping bag, rolled off my mattress and crawled
out of the inner tent into the "living-room", I tucked my toes under,
lifted my knees off the ground and with my bum in the air walked my hands
towards my feet until I could stand, Sue's comment "I'd help you up but
it's more fun watching!" I've never taken a break before during a race, so
I took my time gathering myself, I put on another pair of tights so I'd stay
nice and warm and had some coffee to revive me and some paracetamol to ease my
legs, hopefully they would soon loosen as I started moving again. One wee problem,
my iPod was dead. Ken offered me his
phone with his music on it if I wanted, not to worry, I would be fine without,
but it was nice to know I could have some tunes if I felt I needed them.

My legs loosened and it got light, I took off some of the
extra layers I'd put on during the night. At 11.00am the sprinters joined in
the fun, AKA the 24hour race, the pace they zoomed round at seemed very fast,
too fast in this heat, there were going to be casualties. It got really hot in the afternoon but that's
how I like it, my black compression tights soaked up the sun's energy like
solar panels, my quads have no strength with the combination of no training and
mouth cancer treatment but the warmth of the sun was the elixir of life. William asked if we had ice, "Brrr, no
thanks.", just the thought gave me
shiver, I wasn't even using a wet sponge, but I did get quite warm and Sue
asked if I wanted a break as I looked a bit wabbit. So I found a chair, sat down, put my feet up
and started drinking one of the low alcohol beers Pauline had bought, that made
me laugh, what a bizarre thing to do in a race!
It was still too warm just to sit, so Ken put my beer into my drinks
bottle and I strolled round at ice-cream pace, you know how slow you walk
eating ice-cream, that was my race pace! Another first, I've never drank beer
from a bottle with a sports top before! A
wee while later Pam (race director) made an announcement, asking us to respect
the college's strict no alcohol rule, I thought I was discreet, but it wasn't
just me, that's ultra runners for you!
But Ray McCurdy didn't break the no smoking rule, he probably could've
added another mile or so to his distance since he did leave the college grounds
for his fag breaks!

I was still quite warm and tired after my "sports
drink" so I decided to have a wee lie down but the tent would've still been
too warm so I took my blanket to the shaded side of the tent and lay on the
grass for about an hour and a half. I felt quite refreshed afterwards and found
the light breeze chilly so put a fleece on to go back on the track. I was never
fast but my laps were consistent and I churned them out, my stomach was fine
too, no problems at all, with my mouth still being sore and sensitive I kept all
my food liquid. I was confident in using
my Ensure milkshakes as I know a lot of elite athletes use them, lucky me, I
get them free on prescription and stock-piled plenty of them, I also had soup,
custard and porridge, I couldn't drink my usual diluted ginger beer ,it was still
a bit nippy for me but I managed some coke and I just had plain water, since
the radiotherapy has damaged my saliva glands I don't produce any, not a single
spit, so after a couple of breaths my mouth is uncomfortably dry so I just
carried my water in a bottle belt, easy to get a mouthful one or twice a lap.

It got dark again, the sky was clear and I felt it colder
than the previous night, I made sure I stayed warm though, t-shirt, vest, arm
warmers, two fleeces, two pairs of tights, two Buff scarves. I planned to stop
for another break after midnight again, but I was moving well so I kept going
for a wee bit longer clocking over 101 miles before getting back into my
sleeping bag for a couple of hours. I
slept well this time, I'd only put my head down then Ken woke me up! Again I took
my time to gather myself and get back on track, I took a couple of easy laps to
wake me up and loosen me off. It was just
after 3.30am, I'd covered over 164kms/102miles, I had just less than six and a
half hours to go, could I get 200km? I did some sums, I'll have to pick up the
pace but I've got to try. Next time
round I told Ken I was on a mission, and since I'm rubbish with numbers especially
when running I put him in charge of checking my pace and if it was fast enough,
he was excellent telling what I was doing and how much I had to pick it up by
and maintain.

At 5.00am Sue asked if I'd like a wee 5.00am special, and
showed me a bottle of Brewdog 5.00am Saint, now that's a proper beer! I laughed
out loud and had a wee tincture.

Enough clothes for two runners

The sun rise was a pretty pink one and as it warmed up I gradually
peeled my layers off, then there was a short, heavy shower, I felt it cold on
my quads, time to pull on my cut-offs, an old pair of waterproof breeks I'd
chopped below the knee, so easy to slip on and off without having to mess with
my shoes. Payback time in the comparison
game for Pauline... I looked like Ray McCurdy, yeah, I'll take that. Sorry, no
photographic evidence, the shower passed quickly and they were soon removed.

With three hours to go I was maintaining my pace and should
reach 200km but I wanted to make sure and get the best distance I could, so I started running the straight over the timing
mats. It didn't feel too bad at all, the blisters on the balls of my feet felt
easier when I was running but my quads had no strength and couldn't maintain
running for long, I gradually stretched the running each lap picking points to start and stop until
I was running half of every lap. The transition from walking to running was
fine but going back to a walk was a painful judder to my legs and set the
blisters on fire but I didn't feel as if
I had the strength to keep running... not yet.

Ken kept me informed of my pace and laps, Sue and Gillian
passed me my milkshake, I was just having a mouthful every few of laps. Time
moved on and I reeled in the distance, 9.00am Kilts On! The last hour, the
Highland Charge, no need to conserve my energy and strength any longer, I increased
the distance I ran every lap until there was no walking, Matt Moroz was at the timing mat holding up
his fingers for how many laps I had to do to get 200km. I got it with 35miuntes to spare.

200km

I wasn't stopping, how much more could I get? I pushed on, Pauline lapped me and shouted at
the top of her voice "COME ON!" I answered just as loud "ALRIGHT!"
A twinnie tradition since the 24 hour
race at Perth 2008. Alan was handing out wee bean bags with our name and race
number on them to be dropped when the final hooter sounded, a whistle signalled
the last minute. Pushed hard and fast for every step, Sue pointed and shouted "Get
the white line!" I did. 511(and a
bit) laps, 204.6km 127miles.

I can stop now.

I hugged Sue and Gillian until I got my sobbing under
control, an unbelievable achievement after
the past five months, but I did it!

Lorna stopped her race to hug me.

We strolled round the grass, keeping my blood circulating
until we were reunited with Pauline and Ken, more hugs.

The pleasure of a hot shower and clean clothes , bliss. Then
back over to the tent for a seat and some soup and to cheer in the other
runners. The 24 hour race finished at 11.00am, and the six day race finished at
noon, most of them proudly carried their national flag for the finish. It was a privilege to
stand and applaud such great achievements.

Pauline was 1st Lady and I was 2nd.

Apart from the blisters on the balls of my feet and pudgy
feet and feeling tired for a bit I don't think I've knocked back my recovery,
my weight has remained stable, not sure what the consultant will say when I see
him in a few weeks though.

Now I don't usually compare my results with other runners
but I was a bit astounded when I saw the 2013 World rankings for 48 hours. I'm
ranked 43 out of 125 women. Pauline
wasn't so chuffed, her 252.8km/157miles got her a ranked 13, not her favourite
number, she should've ran faster then!

Pam is hoping to stage the British Ultra Fest again next
year, I hope so too, I'd like to see what I could do fully recovered, strong, fit
and with a bit of training!

Lovely to see that the race went well - makes for a jolly blog entry to read too :-)

A big well done to yourself and Pauline, really quite an extraordinary pair you are! I'll have to give extra bonus points to you as you've had a few pesky things to deal with this year. As ever a great inspiration to us all.